SOTOGRANDE, Spain -- Valderrama Golf Club was nothing like the Americans remembered from the Ryder Cup two years ago. All Vijay Singh knew was that his round Thursday was worth savoring.
On wider fairways and slicker greens, Singh kept the ball in great position most of the day for a 4-under 67 that gave him a one-stroke lead over Jim Furyk after the first round of the American Express Championship, the final World Golf Championship event of the year.Only 11 players from the elite, 62-man field managed to break par.
SENIOR TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP: At Myrtle Beach, S.C., Bruce Fleisher, the happiest man on the Senior PGA Tour, kept smiling Thursday after his 5-under 67 left him tied with Utahn Bruce Summerhays, a shot ahead to start the Senior Tour Championship.
Fleisher, a 51-year-old rookie, has rolled through the circuit this season with seven victories and more than $2.3 million in earnings, all but wrapping up player of the year honors.
He had five back-nine birdies in the first round despite his fatigue from topping Hale Irwin in the money crown chase the past month.
Summerhays, who has won two tournaments in six Senior seasons, did not bogey a hole during his round.
MIZUNO CLASSIC: At Otsu, Japan, 11-year tour veteran Cindy McCurdy had a good start with a 7-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead today at the Mizuno Classic, the penultimate U.S. LPGA event of the season.
The Georgia native tied her career-best score to lead the 54-hole event in western Japan by two shots over Rachel Hetherington and South Korea's Ko Woo-soon.